Straightedge and paper cutter



March 31, 1953 I AN 2,633,196

STRAIGHT EDGE AND PAPER CUTTER I Filed May 9, 1950 INVENTOR. H ARRY TARAN BY v fiT TORNE? Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED ps'm'rlizs PATENT OFFICE Harry Taran, Detroit, Mich. Application May 9, 1950, Serial No. 161,036

cut therewith in a perfectly straight line.

When it is necessary to cut wallpaper while hanging the wallpaper in a room or the like, the

paper must be cut cleanly and in a perfectly straight line in, order that the finished work will give a pleasing appearance. wallpaper is raggedly cut or is. cutawry, such paper normally cannot be used and is wasted.

The conventional paper cutters heretofore used comprise straight edges having cutter members slidably mounted thereon. These prior paper cutters have not proven entirely satisfactory, since. the cutter members either have a tendency to wobble on the straight edges or the cutter blades do not have a sufficiently sharp edge at all times to insure that the paper will be cleanly cut.

Accordingly, itisan object of the present in-.

vention to provide a paper cutter having a cutter member slidably mounted on a straight edge and which is constructed and arranged to prevent the cutter blade from losing contact with the and further which is constructed to permit worn blades to be easily replaced by .unworn blades so that the operator will always have readily available a sharpbutting blade "on thepaper cutter.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a paper cuttr'which is light in weight permitting it: to be-easily handled by the user thereof, and which can be cheaply but sturdily constructed to provide an accurate cutting instrument at'low' cost. v

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description'and a ended claims, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate correspond- I ing parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

If a strip of 4 Claims. (Cl.16473) of the cutter member of the present invention with a fragmentary portion of the straight edge shown in phantom.

Fig. 2 is asectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the mounting arrangement of the cutter member on the straight edge.

Fig. 31s a perspective view, of the straight edge and the cutter-member mountedthereon.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary viewof thepaper cutter showing a portion of the straight edge and a front elevation of the cutter member mounted thereon. .7

Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction andv arrangement. of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood thatthe phraseology or terminologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention can be seen comprising a straight edge lil having a cutter member 12 slidably mounted thereon. The straight edge I0 has a. track I4 on the upper surface and adjacent one of the edges thereof on which the cutter member I2 is adapted to ride.

As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the track 14 is made of a pair of -mernbers l6 and 18 which togetherwith'the upper surface of the straight edge lilform an'inverted T-shaped slot into which a depending portion of the cutter member 12 extends, permitting said cutter member iii to be slidably movableon the straight edge- Iii as will be more fully described hereinafter. It is preferredto make the straight edge =lli of a wooden section 22hhaving a channel section 24 made of aluminum extending around the'one edge thereof, :However, if desired, other suitable sturdy lightweight materials may be used.

The outer edge of the channel member 24 has a shoulder portion 25 against which the cutting blade of the cutter member I2 is adapted to slidably engage during-operation of the paper cutter.

Each of thefends of the track Jihas an insert member 28 thereinto prevent thecutter member l2 from running oif the end of the straight "The cutter'niembe'r l2 includes a carrier 3i! having a T-shaped depending portion 32 which I is suitably shaped to fit snugly but slidably within the T-shaped slot of the track 14., This construction permits the carrier 35] to slide longitudinally of the straight edge ill, and will prevent wobbling of said carrier 30 with respect to the straight edge ID.

The upper surface of the carrier 30 has a rounded shoulder 33 and a shaft 34 in axial alignj ment with said rounded shoulder 33 on which a cutter support member 36 is pivotally mounted. The cutter support member 36 has a flange 36a in which a slot 361) is cut to form a journal which is saddled over the rounded shoulder 33. The cutter support member 36 is held against axial movement on the shaft 34 by the shoulder portion 38 and the washer 40 which is secured to the carrier 30 by the screw 42. be seen in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the washer 46 extends into the annular slot 44 of the support member 36 to hold the latter against the shoulder 38. However, it should be understood that sufiicient clearance is provided between the shoulder 3.8 and the support member 36 to permit the latter to be pivoted on the shaft 34..

The support member 36 has a depending wall portion 46 which has its inner surface recessed for receiving a razor blade 48 or the like therein. The razor blade 48 is held in a fixed position on the depending wall portion 46 by means of the screw 50.

The depending wall portion 46 extends below the upper edge of the shoulder 26 so as to maintain the razor blade 48 in firm sliding engagement with said shoulder portion 26. The recess above the shoulder 26 is sufi'iciently great to provide clearance for the head of the screw 56 for pivotal movement of the support member 35 with respect to the straight edge it.

When the paper cutter is not in use, or when it is being transported from one place to another, the cutter member {2 can be locked against movement on the straight edge I by means of the locking screw 54 which extends through the carrier 36 and can be screwed into tight engagement with the member l6 of the track 14.

From the above description, it is believed to be clear that the cutter member [2 can be slidably moved on the straight edge It] and no wobble of the cutter member I 2 with respect to the straight edge H] can occur. The former is closely fitted to the latter so that there can be no movement except in a longitudinal direction. The carrier 36 and support member 36 of the cutter member I2 are made of aluminum so that the entire paper cutter is light in weight and easy to handle. By virtue of the pivotal mounting of the support member 36, either of the lower edge cutting corners of the razor blade can be used for cutting wallpaper.

When both of the lower cutting edge corners of the razor blade have become sufiiciently dull so that the wallpaper will not be cleanly cut thereby, the razor blade can be easily and quickly replaced merely by removing the screw 42, thereby removing the support member '36 from the carrier 36, and then the screw 50 can be removed and a new blade inserted in place of the worn one. Any razor blade discarded after having been used for shaving purposes or the like is suitable for use with the paper cutter, and it is believed to be readily understood that there will be no operating cost incurred in using this cutting instrument,

T us it an be seen that the p ent inventio provides a paper cutter which can be used to cut wallpaper in clean straight lines and which is simply and ruggedly constructed, permitting it to be produced at low cost and still provide an instrument for performing accurate work. The paper cutter is adapted to use conventional razor blades which have been discarded, and it is designed to permit use of either of two cutting edge corners before substitutin :an unworn blade for a worn one. Further, the paper cutter is light in weight permitting it to be easily handled and transported from place to place.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A paper cutter comprising a straight edge having a carrier slidably mounted in a tongue and groove relationship on the upper surface and adjacent one edge thereof, said carrier having a cylindrical portion on its upper surface normal to the plane of said edge, said portion projecting beyond said plane as a shaft, a cutter support member pivotally mounted on said shaft and having a bearing surface saddled over said cylindrical portion, said cutter support member overlapping said one edge with the overlapping surface being recessed to receive a cutter blade, and a cutter blade secured in said recessed portion so that it will be in sliding engagement with said one edge.

2. A paper cutter comprising a straight edge having a carrier slidably mounted in a T-shaped tongue and groove relationship on the upper surface and adjacent one edge thereof, said carrier having a cylindrical portion on its upper surface normal to the plane of said edge, said portion projecting beyond said plane as a shaft, a cutter support member pivotally mounted on said shaft and having a bearing surface saddled over said cylindrical portion, said cutter support member overlapping said one edge with the overlapping surface being recessed to receive a razor blade, a razor blade secured in said recessed portion so that it will be in sliding engagement with said one edge and with its cutting edge lowermost so that the cutter support member can be pivoted to bring either end of the cutting edge into engagement with paper to be cut.

3. A paper cutter as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cutter support member is retained in its pivotally mounted position by a thrust member held against the end of said shaft and a portion of said support member by a screw threadedly connected to said'sh it- 4. A paper cutter as claimed in claim 3 wh r in said Edge Of the straight edge has a groove therein, and a single screw secures the razor blade in said recessed portion, he h a of sa screw tending into said groove which provides clearance therefor.

HARRY TARAN.

R FERENCES CITE The following references are of record in the fi o his patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hayes Apr. 30, 1940 

